


He's a Lost Boy from Neverland

by Murasakiiro no iruka (Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson)



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Established Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, M/M, Moving In Together, Moving On, Peter Pan References, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 15:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8757655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson/pseuds/Murasakiiro%20no%20iruka
Summary: Haru has always been a Lost Boy, and he finally finds his story book.-----
  Inspired by this beautiful Nightcore remix of Lost Boy by Ruth B.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sugardaddyviktor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugardaddyviktor/gifts).



> _For Connor, my favourite lost boy. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for introducing me to free and Rei/Haru. Thank you for introducing me to things that have brought me such amazing joy. Stay free, splash free, my angel._
> 
> \--------
> 
> Please note this is heavily unbetaed because I just finished this and it's gone 4am. Any mistakes are my own.
> 
> \--------
> 
> Character Alternates for Reference:
> 
> Lost Boy - Haru  
> Peter Pan - Makoto  
> Tinkerbell - Nagisa  
> Wendy Darling - Rei  
> Captain Hook - Rin
> 
> Alternate Universe tag for:
> 
> \- Rin never going to Australia  
> \- Rei joining the Iwatobi Swim Club because he's dating Nagisa and wants to be close to him

_There was a time when I was alone_  
_Nowhere to go and no place to call home_  
_My only friend was the man in the moon_  
_And even sometimes he would go away, too_

Ever since Nanase Haruka was younger, he had been alone. His friends weren’t that much of friends. They didn’t come over to his house on the weekend. They didn’t ask him to go out to the cinema or for food. They only saw him at swim club. Haru knew he should really make more of an effort and maybe ask _them_ to go out, but he didn’t want to. At times, he didn’t even want to swim. He only swam for fun, for himself, and sometimes, it didn’t feel right to swim. Sometimes, Haru would leave swim club early. He’d get dry and dressed and totter home, avoiding all the streets his parents told him to avoid, and opening the door with a squeak and a patter of feet.  
  
At night, Haru would lay there and listen to his parents discussing the things that they wanted to do, all the travelling they wanted to do. They would discuss it in detail, even down to how the sand would feel under their feet and in between their toes. They would dream and dream, only for their voices to drop in emotion, to sound sad and say _but Haru can’t be left alone and he has school_. Haru would lay there, and feel bad. He wanted his parents to have fun but he knew that he couldn’t be left alone as much as they did. He often wondered if his parents would go if he stayed at a friend’s house whilst they went away. Then Haru would remember he only had one friend and he would roll over in his bed to look out the window.  
  
Haru would stare up at the moon, glowing brightly outside his window. There would be a face in the moon, and the face would smile at Haru. Haru would smile brightly back and they would talk deeply into the night. The man’s mouth didn’t move, it never moved, but Haru could hear him reply in his head and it made Haru smile. They would talk about everything and anything for hours at a time until Haru had to make his apologies to the kind face and let himself fall asleep, normally when his clock told him it was gone 12:00am, which he knew was a naughty time to stay up awake past.  
  
Sometimes, the man in the moon wouldn’t be there, and Haru would lay there, watching the moon behind the clouds. He’d be upset, and wait patiently and patiently. He tried to talk to him, he’d whisper little questions and sentences up to the sky, but there would never be a reply. Haru would frown up at the moon and ask softly _where are you? I miss you_ but the man in the moon wouldn’t show himself. Haru would pout and kick his blankets off, patter over to the window to stare outside, but still he wouldn’t be there. Eventually, Haru would return to bed, and cry quietly until he fell asleep. The man in the moon was meant to make him feel less lonely, so why did he sometimes make Haru feel worse?

* * *

 

 _Then one night, as I closed my eyes_  
_I saw a shadow flying high_  
_He came to me with the sweetest smile_  
_Told me he wanted to talk for awhile_  
_He said, "Peter Pan, that's what they call me_  
_I promise that you'll never be lonely, " and ever since that day_

 

Haru liked to spend his time underwater. He liked to sit at the bottom of the pool and open his eyes, his goggled around his neck, and stare at the blurry lights above the water. Dark shadows would dart around him, other swimmers making their way through the water, bettering their times. They would race each other and laugh and Haru wouldn’t want anything to do with it. He just liked to swim free; he liked feeling free, he liked the speed and the escape the water gave him. He would resurface just long enough to fill his lungs with air, and then dive back down, happy to curl up on the bottom of the pool. Except this time, it was different.  
  
This time, when Haru let himself sink to the bottom of the pool, he looked up, content, and there was a shadow above him. Haru blinked a little and watched as the shadow got closer and then he recognised the new boy, smiling weakly at him under the water. His goggles were on and Haru tilted his head. Tachibana Makoto offered his hand in a hand shake to Haru and the young swimmer hesitated. Slowly, he reached his hand out, shaking it with an equally weak smile.  
  
Makoto immediately swam back to the surface when Haru let go of his hand and Haru followed, curious. They broke the water at almost the same time. Makoto trod water quickly and he smiled at Haru – this time, it was a full, bright smile. _I’m Tachibana Makoto! It’s nice to meet you!_ _You can call me Makoto, most people do!_ _You’re Haru, right?_  
  
Haru had nodded, keeping his head mostly under the water. His nose was barely above the water, a few droplets entering his nose when he inhaled, and it was uncomfortable. Haru didn’t really care. Makoto kept talking and Haru watched him carefully. Why was he talking to him? The kids didn’t like Haru, no one talked to him. Makoto continued talking, _I’ve heard a lot about you! Nagisa and I find you an inspiration! We wanna be like you! You’re an amazing swimmer!_  
  
Haru didn’t understand it. Why did Makoto and this Nagisa like him? Makoto said something, waving his hand at Haru. It took the young swimmer a moment to realise that Makoto was telling him to follow him and Haru followed Makoto. They clambered out the pool and there was a bright boy with yellow hair smiling at him. _Hi! I’m Hazuki Nagisa! You can call me Nagisa though! You’re so cool Haru! Or- Or should I call you Nanase-kun?_  
  
Haru begrudgingly said they both could call him Haru and he sat quiet as they yammered on, talking to him. He answered as appropriately as he could, listening intently, forever wishing he could get back in the water. Haru didn’t want to be rude, however, so he sat there listening, shivering a little until Coach told them it was Haru’s turn to swim. The young boy quickly dived into the water, and swam and swam and swam. He got out when told, wrapping himself in his towel as he sat by the edge of the pool, dangling his feet in the slightly cold water. He watched Makoto and Nagisa swim and tilted his head. They were both good swimmers, but he guessed that no one would be as good as he was. Not at the age there were at – at least, that’s what he had heard Coach say.  
  
When Haru left Swim Club that night, holding his Mother’s hand, Makoto and Nagisa called his name and waved goodbye, and Haru waved back.  
  
At the next club, Makoto and Nagisa ran to meet him as he walked through the door, clinging to his Father’s hand, and he waved silently as they babbled excitedly about relay training that night. Haru swam with them, he swam and swam and, for once, Swim Club didn’t feel so lonely.

* * *

   
_I am a lost boy from Neverland_  
_Usually hanging out with Peter Pan_  
_And when we're bored we play in the woods_  
_Always on the run from Captain Hook_  
_"Run, run, lost boy, " they say to me_  
_Away from all of reality_

 

They grew up quickly, in different ways to each other. Haru grew to be independent. Makoto grew to be mature. Nagisa grew mature, but was still much more childish than the rest of them. They all went to Swim Club together, and they usually stayed at each other’s houses during Swim Club days and nights. Haru found it was actually quite exciting, staying at Makoto’s house. They would all laugh in the living room, sleeping in sleeping bags and watching television until naughty hours of the night. They would read together, talk about swimming, and enjoy each other’s company. They had a secure, small little friendship group and Haru loved it. People didn’t bother them much, they were allowed to be their own little group in the water, swimming together.  
  
Then, a new boy joined swim club. He had maroon hair, and a strong swimming ethic that could rival Haru if he applied it more. He appeared out the water at the same time as Haru, in the lane next to him and smiled. Haru noticed his teeth were all pointed, like a sharks. It made him nervous. _I’m Matsuoka Rin! You’re Haru, right? You’re a great swimmer, I’ve heard great things about you!_  
  
Haru watched him with the same disinterest he had Makoto and Nagisa months ago, replying where he needed to, answering questions before he got bored and pushed off the side of the pool. He did another length, and then another. Haru slowly became aware of a shadow in Rin’s lane, catching up to him and catching up to him until the shadow overtook him. When he resurfaced at the side of the pool, Rin was grinning wolfishly at him. _I won, but you weren’t swimming at your full! I wanna race you when you really push yourself!_  
  
Haru had obliged and swam with Rin again, going as fast as he could, his arms propelling him through the water as much as he dared to push himself, and this time, he beat Rin easily. Rin had laughed and exclaimed how cool it was that Haru could swim so well. Haru had offered a weak smile before getting out of the water when Coach called time.  
  
Rin called all their names and waved at them as they all left. Haru found himself absent mindedly waving back as he walked with Makoto and Nagisa to Makoto’s Mother’s car, waiting outside.  
  
Haru didn’t remember when Rin had become an official member of their group, but he started coming to their sleepovers. He would introduce them to films about swimming they hadn’t seen before, show them new techniques for holding their breath underwater, and often had them running around outside. Often, they’d end up playing tag in the small clearing of trees not too far away from Makoto’s house. They would all laugh – and surprisingly, Rin was often the worst of them all. Sometimes, Haru would purposely let Rin tag him, only to pass it on to Makoto within seconds and they’d laugh and run away again.  
  
Haru found that his friendship group was like the book he used to read when he was a little younger, the one his Mother would read him at night. A boy who could fly and his Lost Boys, always playing, always having fun… never growing up.

* * *

 _Neverland is home to lost boys like me_  
_And lost boys like me are free_  
_Neverland is home to lost boys like me_  
_And lost boys like me are free_

 

Haru’s friends were everything he wanted. They were funny, they left him alone when he needed to be left alone, they swam together in relay races – and they let Haru swim free. They had their little group and they all ran away to their shared imaginary world together, running through the streets and swimming through the club pool.  
  
The grown ups always laughed with them, and patted their heads as they called out, crying out about pirates as they splashed in the shallows of the ocean together. Rin would pretend to catch them, and Nagisa would always be caught first. Makoto would rush in, ‘flying’ through the air to save his ‘precious fairy’ and Haru would distract Rin with a ‘sword fight’ as they rushed around, laughing and laughing until the adults called them all to the picnic basket to get food. They sit there and Rin would share his food with Haru, making him giggle a little. They would peck lips and the adults would frown a little but Rin always sat up straight, insisting that when he was bigger he would marry Haru. Haru would giggle and laugh out a _yeah! Rin and I are going to be husband and wife when we get older!_  
  
They would curl up in their sleeping bags, as close to each other as possible, and Makoto and Nagisa would do the same. Rin would let his hand hold Haru’s and they would fall asleep like that, wake up together, with their foreheads pressed together and they’d always giggle and peck lips.

* * *

 _He sprinkled me in pixie dust and told me to believe_  
_Believe in him and believe in me_  
_Together we will fly away in a cloud of green_  
_To your beautiful destiny_  
_As we soared above the town that never loved me_  
_I realised I finally had a family_  
_Soon enough we reached Neverland_  
_Peacefully my feet hit the sand_  
_And ever since that day_

Rin made Haru fly. Whenever they were together, Haru felt like he could do anything; he really felt like he could _fly_. They had just started high school when Rin asked him out properly, officially; when Rin had taken Haru to a water park and they’d spent all day laughing and swimming and being themselves with each other. As they walked home, both of them exhausted and laughing, Haru had been hyper aware of Rin watching him as they went. When they got to the Nanase household, Rin had taken a hold of Haru’s hands, stopping him going inside.  
  
They stared at each other in silence and then leant in gently, their lips meeting. Haru had wanted to pull away at first; he was nervous, scared – he’d never kissed anyone before, what if he did it wrong?! But then Rin’s hand curled gently around the back of his neck, holding him softly in place. Haru realised that his hand wasn’t too secure, that Rin was giving Haru the freedom to pull back if he wanted to… but he didn’t want to. Rin’s lips were nice, smooth, warm, and Haru found them intoxicating.  
  
Rin finally pulled back, and their foreheads touched together, resting their. Haru’s eyes flickered open to stare into Rin’s red-orange eyes. They bore straight back into his sea blue ones and they both smiled weakly. Rin had leaned in again, pressing another gentle kiss to his lips. _Haru… I’ve loved you since we were kids- we’re still kids, Rin- I’m trying to be romantic can you not interrupt me?_  
  
They both burst into laughter and Rin had smiled softly, pressing another gentle kiss to Haru’s lips. _I mean it, Haru, I’ve loved you since we were_ _ **younger**_ _kids._ He paused to narrow his eyes with a smirk and Haru giggled, a gentle, soft giggle that made Rin smile. _I want you to be my boyfriend. I want you to be the one special person in this world that makes everything better for me. Will you do the honour of being my boyfriend?_  
  
Haru had hesitated, bit into his lip. He had considered, and considered, and eventually he had nodded his head, smiling wide. _I’d love to be your boyfriend, Matsuoka Rin._ They’d kissed again and Haru had invited him to stay the night. They curled up on the bed, close together, nuzzling each other, pressing sweet kisses to each other lips and holding each other tightly until they both fell asleep.  
  
Rin was in Haru’s dream, flying over a pasture of green, hand in hand. Makoto and Nagisa were there, and they waved and shouted at them before they began to float up to them, laughing with them. Makoto takes Haru’s spare hand, and Nagisa holds onto Makoto’s other hand and then they’re all flying together, over the town they grew up in at the same time, but not together.  
  
They see Makoto and his family, playing on the beach. Nagisa and his family are with them too, and they’re all playing in the ocean. Then it’s Rin’s family, all of them playing Frisbee with the family dog, all of them laughing brightly. Rin gets tackled by his dog, and the Rin holding Haru’s hand laughs brightly, as though he’s just been tackled then and there. Then it’s Haru’s turn. He sits on the roof by the side of his bedroom window, reading a book hungrily. He turns the pages quickly as his parents sit in the garden talking about their dreams to travel. Haru looks away.  
  
His friends all look at him and frown, and then they start pulling Haru down. Haru’s scared for a moment, but Rin squeezes his hand, and he trusts his boyfriend not to drop him, not to hurt him. Makoto and Nagisa call out reassuring things and then they’re landing on the beach. Sand rubs in between Haru’s toes and he scrunches his nose up, but he wiggles his toes deeper. Nagisa and Makoto run ahead into the ocean, laughing. They dive in without a second thought and swim out a little bit. Rin smiles and takes a step forward, tugging on Haru’s hand and the swimmer watches his boyfriend. He wears a mischievous smile, but his eyes are shining with trust and truth, so Haru lets himself be dragged out to the shallows with a laugh. They all swim together, splashing each other, jumping on each other and pushing them under the water.  
  
Haru realises he doesn’t need his parents, not since he made friends with Makoto and Nagisa, and then Rin, later on. They’ve become his family and he didn’t even realise they had. He loves Rin, he’s the one he’ll always love, and Makoto and Nagisa are like brothers to him, maybe even closer than some brothers are.  
  
Haru swims and swims until he’s exhausted and they all stumble back to shore, laughing and jesting, collapsing on the surf to smile and laugh at the darkening sky. Rin pulls him closer. Makoto points to the only constellation he knows. Nagisa begins to snore softly. Haru realises, happily, he’s at home, he could stay here for the rest of his life and be content to never move again.

* * *

 _I am a lost boy from Neverland_  
_Usually hanging out with Peter Pan_  
_And when we're bored we play in the woods_  
_Always on the run from Captain Hook_  
_" ~~Run, run,~~ Swim, swim, lost boy, " they say to me_  
_Away from all of reality_

Haru always considered himself to be a lost soul, someone who didn’t really have anywhere to fit in. His Mother always used to say he was a merman in a different life, and that the ocean was where he belonged. Now, as a second year in high school, he knows she was just trying to make him feel better about being different. Now, he spends his lunches with Makoto and Nagisa – Rin is in a different class and joins them ten minutes into lunch.  
  
They still run around, they still laugh. Rin chases Haru around a tree a few times before heading around the other direction, capturing Haru, and all four teenagers laugh brightly. Makoto jumps up and pretends to challenge Rin to a sword fight, just like when they were younger, but it’s done for the nostalgia and all four teenagers sit down on the patch of grass. Haru cuddles into Rin for the first five minutes Rin joins them, and then they head down to the pool.  
  
Rin cheers Haru on as he completes his lap in record time, and then he slips into the water to challenge Haru to a race. Haru wins, Rin’s smile becomes forced. Haru notices it and says nothing. Instead, he gets out the water and he dives in, swimming and swimming as much as he can. He pushes himself because he wants to push himself. He loses himself from high school, he loses himself from his beginning to strain relationship, he loses himself from the responsibilities of friendship. Haru loses himself in swimming, and it helps him cope with his life.

* * *

  _Neverland is home to lost boys like me_  
_And lost boys like me are free_  
_Neverland is home to lost boys like me_  
_And lost boys like me are free_

 

The swimming pool is where Haru loses himself. Before school, during lunch break, after school at Club. Even after Club, Haru will continue to swim well into the evening until the sky turns orange-red, like his boyfriend’s eyes and he pulls himself from the water, panting and aching.  
  
When swimming, Haru is free. He doesn’t have anything to do, other than propel himself through the water. He doesn’t have to be the doting boyfriend, the good friend that listens, the independent son that has to fend for himself. He’s the Lost Boy, the merman, who’s life is to swim and just swim – to be one with the water and feel at home.  
  
The pool is his home, and Rin, Nagisa and Makoto could never understand, because they weren’t Lost Boys.

* * *

 _Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling_  
_Even Captain Hook, you are my perfect story book_  
_Neverland, I love you so_  
_You are now my home sweet home_  
_Forever a lost boy at last_

 

Their four becomes five, one day, when Nagisa brings his boyfriend down to the pool. He’s a first year, and shy by the looks of things. He spends more time adjusting his glasses than he does talking to anyone. Haru notices how he watches Nagisa swim with a smile on his face, and then he catches Haru staring. The boyfriend offers his hand and Haru shyly takes it. _Ryuugazaki Rei. You must be Haru; Nagisa speaks of you with such adoration_. Haru blushes and dives under the water to hide the colour in his cheeks. Rin finds him under the water and they kiss. Rin’s smiling and they resurface to cuddle together a little.  
  
Haru and Rin lean against each other, arms around each other’s waist as they watch Nagisa and Makoto swimming, elegant as usual, doing their best to beat their times. Haru smiles. Makoto. Nagisa. Rin. He feels like he’s home again and he gladly curls up against Rin and presses their lips together, before he dives off through the water, swimming fast and hard, losing himself to his Neverland again.

* * *

  _Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling_  
_Even Captain Hook, you are my perfect story book_  
_Neverland, I love you so_  
_You are now my home sweet home_  
_Forever a lost boy at last_

 

Rei joins the swim club after a few weeks, diving in without the ability to swim. Nagisa tries to teach him to swim, Makoto, Rin, but he’s helpless. Haru eventually gives up and tries to teach Rei the basics, but he’s _hopeless_. Haru feels bad admitting it to himself, but after a while, he sighs and throws himself backwards, twisting in the water as he swims away. He’s frustrated, and he wants to lose himself. He can’t focus on helping Rei, as much as he wants to help him. Haru wants to lose himself, and he pushes himself through the water. He doesn’t realise Rin is chasing him through the human-made waves, chasing him like he did when they were children playing in the ocean surf. He eventually surfaces, long after Rin – Haru’s able to hold his breath for four minutes now, and he amazes everyone; he scares Rin.  
  
Haru does surface, and he can hear cheering. He looks over and sees Nagisa, Makoto and Rin cheering Rei on as he ploughs through the water with a less than graceful butterfly stroke. Haru can’t judge him, and he smiles and adds his own small applause onto the cheering and swims silently over. His arms wrap around Rin, and the maroon-haired teenager turns his head to press a kiss to Haru’s lips, gladly reciprocated.  
  
Rin pulls back to congratulate Rei and Haru smiles as he sinks a little in the water, letting his nose hover just above the surface of it. His sea blue eyes took in the four boys all laughing and cheering, clapping and splashing in the water of the pool and he smiled softly.  
  
He was a Lost Boy and he had his crew, his friends, his special ones. He had his Neverland. He had his happiness.  
  
Haru never wanted this moment to end.

* * *

 

_And for always I will say_

 

 _You’re not going to Iwatobi University?_  
  
_No, I got a scholarship into Tokyo’s sports program. I can’t turn it down._  
  
_I understand. Do what’s best for you._

* * *

 _I am a lost boy from Neverland_  
_Usually hanging out with Peter Pan_  
_And when we're bored we play in the woods_  
_Always on the run from Captain Hook_  
_" ~~Run, run~~ , Swim, swim lost boy, " they say to me_  
_Away from all of reality_

Haru goes to Iwatobi University. Rin goes to Tokyo. Makoto and Nagisa go to Iwatobi with Haru. Rei goes to Miyagi. Haru is as lost as ever. It’s the first time he and Rin have ever truly been apart. Swimming isn’t the same without him. There is no presence of his shark behind him, there’s no pirate chasing him through the waves, trying to capture him. There’s a friendly presence in the lane two to the left as Makoto courses through the water – but Makoto doesn’t swim competitively now. He’s studying to become a coach. There’s a presence that screams magic one to the right, and it’s Nagisa rushing through the water like the delicate little faerie he’s always been. But Nagisa doesn’t swim competitively anymore, either; he’s studying to be a sports therapist, and from what Haru heard, he’s top of the class. Haru’s heard Rei doesn’t swim competitively now either; his interests have returned to maths and he doesn’t know what he wants to do, but he’s studying extended maths. He had new friends now, and he plays volleyball with them casually. Nagisa talks of friends he’s yet to meet, a Hinata, a Tsukishima and a Yamaguchi. Haru tones him out.  
  
Rin is the only one that swims competitively through choice. He won a scholarship because of his swimming and he’s putting it to good use. He’s already a starting choice for Tokyo University’s swim team in competitions. Haru decides to pursue swimming because it’s really the only time he gets to see Rin now, other than Skype. Neither of them have the chance to travel to the other, so competitions end with them going for a coffee, curling up under a tree somewhere and talking of their dreams – Rin’s dreams, because Haru still doesn’t know what he wants to do.  
  
Haru likes the competitions, he likes the familiar feeling of being chased by Rin, like when they were children and Rin played a pirate, trying to catch Haru before Makoto and Nagisa ‘freed’ him of the ‘ship’.  
  
Haru feels like he’s on the run from Rin after a competition as he returns to Iwatobi, coffee in hand as he meets Makoto outside the campus after his evening class. They sit on the grass by the coffee shop and Makoto silently reads over his notes from class, where as Haru watches the orange-red sky and thinks of his boyfriend’s eyes. Haru excuses himself, scared of where his thoughts may lead him – _we barely see each other anymore; is it worth it now; will Rin find someone else_ ?   
  
Haru dives into the beginning to cool water of the heated pool, turned off for the night now, and forces his way through the water. The pool is still his Neverland, it’s still a distraction and Haru swims until the early hours of the morning before he gets to his single dorm and falls asleep, exhausted to the bone.

* * *

  _Neverland is home to lost boys like me  
And lost boys like me are free _

Haru graduates with honors on his sports therapy course, standing proud on the stage. Makoto and Nagisa are sticking their thumbs up at him, and he manages a weak smile before he heads off the stage. They’ve all graduated with honors, and they’re all proud of each other. Rei is there, having graduated the week before, and he wraps his arms around Nagisa. He drops to one knee and Haru and Makoto’s mouths drop open as he proposes on the spot, causing a lot of screaming and applause around the students milling around. Nagisa’s mouth drops open and he nods, speechless. Makoto waits for Rei to stop hugging Nagisa, and then envelops the small graduate, spinning him around with a yell.  
  
Haru pats Rei on the back, and Nagisa too, when Makoto puts him down. They’re all laughing and walking together. They all need to pack, they all have their lives to get to.  
  
Rei has a scholarship to do his masters degree at Harvard University in America, and Nagisa is going with him, already happily looking for a sports therapist job in Massachusetts. Makoto graduated top of coaching, and already has a job lined up with Iwatobi University for a year. Haru is happy for his friends, he truly is, but he can’t help but feel empty.  
  
Haru feels like he’s losing his friends, his family. They’ve all been there since they were younger – Rei, not so much, but he still cares deeply for the tall mathematician.  
  
Then there’s Haru’s life, starting a fresh. He can see the dark maroon colored hair bobbing towards him, the orange-red eyes that are bright with happiness, the slightly too sharp teeth revealed as he grins. Rin wraps his arms around Haru, spinning him around. _You looked amazing on that stage_ . Haru smiled and kisses him hard, arms wrapping around his neck. His graduation gown is a little too long, and swirls over his feet, and his graduation cap falls from his head, but he doesn’t care. Haru gets placed on the ground and he lets himself cuddle into Rin’s side. Nagisa waves his left hand in the air, crying happily still. Rin laughs softly and congratulates the couple. He congratulates Makoto and then the group of five fall silent.  
  
They’re about to break apart for the first time in years. The break in the group for university was big but this was even bigger. Makoto was staying in Iwatobi; Rei and Nagisa were moving to America together and Rin and Haru? They were moving to Australia. Rin had been accepted into a top of the range training camp and Haru still didn’t know what he wanted to do, and was willingly following his boyfriend.  
  
They all move in for a group hug, kisses on the cheeks, and tight hugs between Haru and Matoko – and then Nagisa worms his way in to the hug. Tears fall, happy and sad at the same time and then Rei and Nagisa have to go because they have packing to do and Rin and Haru have to go because they have a plane to catch and Makoto has to go because the new swim team start practice in twenty minutes and he has to get across campus.  
  
As Haru walked away from his friends, from his family, his hand clutched tighter to Rin’s. For some reason, he felt free, and it scared him.

* * *

  _Neverland is home to lost boys like me  
And lost boys like me are free _

As Haru dived into the pool in their back garden, coursing through the water, he thought about Rin, currently going through extensive training. He’d be back later than usual tonight, and he’d promised Haru they’d rest in their heated pool and watch the sunset together. They’d been in Australia for just half a year, and Rin was already making progress. The coaches believed he was destined for Olympic Gold and Haru couldn’t be prouder. Haru had gotten himself a job with the training camp himself, being a sports therapist on the side for the swimmers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  
  
Haru kicked through the water of his and Rin’s pool, the engagement ring on his finger glinting through the distorted light beams that curled through the water.  
  
Haru was in Neverland, but he wasn’t a Lost Boy anymore; he’d found his place, he’d found where he belonged; happy by Rin’s side. As long as Rin was happy, Haru didn’t care – he just wanted to be near his family.  
  
That, was where he was no longer lost.


End file.
